Mobile Energy Learning Unit Comes to Pennsylvania

Mobile Energy Learning Unit Comes to Pennsylvania

Cabot is excited to announce the Mobile Offshore Learning Unit, or MOLU, is visiting Pennsylvania. This unit, created by the Offshore Energy Center, features six self-contained learning centers with curriculum-based, hands-on activities about energy and the technologies and sciences involved with the oil and natural gas industry with a curriculum based on state and national standards.

During a typical MOLU visit, students will explore a plethora of topics including geology, physics, and engineering, and robotics, environmental stewardship in
an engaging and attractive way. Students will also have the opportunity to sort through the number of everyday consumer products made possible by oil & natural gas.

The MOLU will make its way to 18 different locations throughout March, touring the Northern Tier, greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, Allentown, and Harrisburg regions. Demand for this program was so high that some schools are having to bus students in because there are simply not enough days to get to every location request. Over 3000 5th & 6th-grade students are expected to participate in this tremendous learning opportunity.

Mobile Offshore Learning Unit - Typical Visit

The MOLU, created in 2008, is in such high demand; it has never left the Gulf Coast. Cabot and its partners at Junior Achievement of Northeast Pennsylvania have worked with the Offshore Energy Center for multiple years to bring this distinctive learning experience to Pennsylvania. Cabot is joined by Southwestern Energy and Williams in presenting the program at various schools during its Pennsylvania journey.

George Stark, Director of External Affairs for Cabot , said this about bringing the unit from Texas to Pennsylvania:

We speak often about necessary infrastructure to take full advantage of the natural gas in the Marcellus shale. Almost always, this discussion is the physical pipelines needed to bring energy to market. What is overlooked is the human infrastructure needed to truly take advantage of this energy resource for decades to come. The MOLU has proven to be an effective educational tool in Texas over the last decade, so it’s natural when discussing energy education, to replicate those successes, Cabot would bring this unique learning experience to Pennsylvania.

Mellissa Turlip, President, Junior Achievement of Northeast Pennsylvania, said this about the impact MOLU will have:

The MOLU visiting Pennsylvania is important because it allows students to experiment with STEM-related activities to build their interest in STEM concepts. By building an interest in STEM concepts, we build an interest in STEM careers that students may not be considering. The quality experiences students will have with the MOLU will be fun and engaging, but most importantly, educational. If we combine active, engaged learning with what students may feel are difficult educational concepts, they will learn and retain information at a greater rate and more thoroughly. It is our goal that these students will draw from this experience when they are researching career options and will consider STEM-related occupations, especially in the petroleum and natural gas industry, that they may not have before participating in the MOLU.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue updating Well Said with pictures and testimonials from teachers and students participating in the program.

Stay tuned!

Topics we explore, along with the standards covered during a MOLU visit

STANDARDS: Abilities of Technological Design; Abilities Necessary to do Scientific Inquiry; History of Science; Science and Technology and Society; Science as a Human Endeavor; Understanding about Science and Technology

STANDARDS: Abilities of Technological Design; Risks and Benefits; Science and Technology and Society; Science as a Human Endeavor; Structure of the Earth System; Understanding about Science and Technology

STANDARDS: Abilities Necessary to do Scientific Inquiry; Properties and Changes of Properties in Matter; Science and Technology and Society; Science as a Human Endeavor; Understanding about Science and Technology

STANDARDS: Abilities of Technical Design; History of Science; Properties and Changes of Properties in Matter; Science and Technology and Society; Science as a Human Endeavor; Structure of the Earth System; Transfer of Energy: Understanding about Science and Technology

[…] Mobile Energy Learning Unit Comes To Pennsylvania. Cabot is excited to announce the Mobile Offshore Learning Unit, or MOLU, is visiting Pennsylvania. This unit, created by the Offshore Energy Center, features six self-contained learning centers with curriculum-based, hands-on activities about energy and the technologies and sciences involved with the oil and natural gas industry with a curriculum based on state and national standards. […]